The German patent application DE 29 25 073 A1 describes a chain conveyor with a plurality of endless chains located one next to the other, which carry the objects to be transported and are drivable by engaging chain wheels on common drive shafts. Therein the chains, due to being mounted in a cassette, are removable and changeable individually and independently of each other. The cassette comprises a frame which forms a guide for the rollers of the chain and in which the chain wheels are mounted in bearings. The chain wheels thus are not carried by the drive shafts, which can be pulled out axially in order to facilitate the removal of a cassette.
The German patent document DE 34 46 461 C2 discloses an apparatus supplying a processing machine via a single-lane discharge conveyor of a conveyor system with containers like bottles, cans or the like. The velocity of the articles on the conveyor belt essentially is changed within a transfer zone. Therein articles guided in one lane are transferred by a lateral transfer element from a first transport chain to a second transport chain located downstream from the first transport chain in the direction of transport. The first and the second transport chain therein can transport the articles with different velocities.
The German patent application DE 10 2008 026 045 A1 relates to an apparatus, located in particular downstream of pasteurizing units in filling systems for bottles in order to reliably remove possibly occurring shards of bottles with metal caps from the further transport path. This is achieved by two transport belts located one after the other and carrying the bottles, with a gap between the transport belts allowing the shards to drop off, wherein over the gap a magnetic head conveyor for seizing the intact bottles and transferring them hanging down across the gap.
The European patent EP 1 546 011 B1 describes a conveyor system with an endless first conveyor belt and a second endless conveyor belt separated from the first by a gap and arranged transversely to it, wherein an intermediate element is provided in the gap. The first and the second conveyor belt may consist of one or plural rows of subsequent modules.
According to the state of the art for the transfer of articles from one transport chain to a different transport chain, straight or lateral transfer systems are used. With straight transfer systems frequently a transfer guide between the transport chains is used. Undesirable effects of this solution are a slowing down, stopping or falling over of the articles. Lateral transfer systems allow a transfer of the articles onto a parallel transport chain by a guide rail arranged transversely or of curved shape, respectively. A disadvantage of this concept is an undesirable slowing down and displacing of the articles amongst each other, as well as the increased space requirements. A transfer of articles between transport chains is for example necessary, if the velocity at which the articles are to be transported in a particular section of a transport system needs to be changed with respect to the velocity in other sections. This for example can be the case, if the distance between subsequent articles is to be changed. Therein the uncontrolled slowing down and displacing of the articles mentioned are a disadvantage. Furthermore, any redirection of the articles from the original direction of transport involves the risk of a congestion forming and thus of a downtime of the processing machine.